You get all of the attention. You are the center of your parent’s world. Every milestone is carefully recorded on video or with a picture. You have it all….until your mom has another baby. Then all of a sudden you are doing a cartwheel or coloring a masterpiece and your mom and dad don’t even seem to notice.

The oldest kids are the experiment children. First-time parents don’t always know what they are doing, and if you happen to be the oldest kid, they are learning just like you. Since first-time parents aren’t exactly experts, they tend to be way more strict with the oldest kid.

Younger siblings get away with a lot. They hardly ever get caught beating up on older siblings.     “One time when I was younger, I asked my brother to get me some soap. He threw the whole box of soap at my head and split it open,” Caden Koehn, freshman, said. When they hit older siblings they’re just playing, but when older siblings hit back they might as well have committed a murder.

The oldest kids also have more responsibilities. They get stuck doing a lot of the chores like cooking, laundry, and cleaning. Even though my sister and I share a room, I always have to clean it by myself.  The oldest kids also have to be the chauffeur for their younger siblings. Older kids get to drive first, which is a good thing. It also means having to take younger siblings everywhere they need to go. Another responsibility many oldest kids have is free babysitting. Lots of kids babysit, and it is a good way to earn money. However, if they are your own flesh and blood, the chances of getting paid are slim.

One good thing about being the oldest child is that they get all the brand new stuff. Older siblings rarely get hand me downs. Another bonus for older siblings is their front seat privileges. Younger siblings are stuck in the backseat until older siblings leave for college or move out. Being the first to move out is definitely a challenge. First kids have to figure everything out on their own.

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